


Proven Wrong

by SoraHinari



Category: Tales of Series, Tales of Vesperia
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Duke Pantarei - Freeform, Duke deserves a hug, Emotional Support, Gen, I Don't Even Know, I Ship It, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, M/M, One Shot, Post-Canon, Sad with a Happy Ending, Suicidal Thoughts, The Author Regrets Nothing, Yuri Lowell - Freeform, Yuri is a sympathetic boy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-16
Updated: 2020-09-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:07:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26486911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoraHinari/pseuds/SoraHinari
Summary: Everything is over, so why is he still there?He lost, so why is he still fighting?He is alone, so for who is he still alive?His existence is just a bad memory that the world would be better off forgetting, at least that is what Duke Pantarei thought before a fateful visitor knocked on his door.
Relationships: Yuri Lowell & Duke Pantarei, Yuri Lowell/Duke Pantarei
Kudos: 10





	Proven Wrong

**Author's Note:**

> I put all the blame on a friend of mine who actually made me ship this. Therefore this is just a post-canon drabbled out one-shot. I hope you enjoy. It is not very very ship like but if you squint you can see it.

His existence wasn’t needed anymore, it was nothing more than a memory, a memory which would be better off forgotten. He himself wanted to forget, forget everything his mind had stored for the past years as if it was a bad nightmare replaying in his sleep. Of course something like that would not be possible, for it was no nightmare but actual reality, his actions had made him feel rotten once they settled down. Sure, he had himself turned into a god-like being and pushed down to mortality once more by mere kids, but maybe that was what he needed as his wake up call.   
Thoughts like that always swirled in his sleep, what would be of the world if he never had a vendetta against humanity, what if he never went against Yuri and his friends, what if he actually had learnt to value human life and not consider it a hindrance, of course all questions unanswered. Opening his ruby eyes he allowed a sigh to leave his lips, his gaze moving all over his surroundings to make sure he was still laying in his own bed. Lifting himself up in a sitting position allows him to place a hand on the mattress, pale fingers sink in deep purple velvet, brushing it to feel the soft fibers, to make sure he is still alive, still in the world that deserves to get rid of him and yet doesn’t. Sadly he is because he feels his body heavy from the lack of sleep he is having ever since the fated battle, it has been around a month and yet the effects still lingered with him.   
  
Tired crimson focuses on the window towards his right, the sun is up and shining, another morning for him to torture his mind with his thoughts, alone in the forest he has sealed his life away. Away from everything and everyone, they didn’t deserve any more pain than what he already had caused them. Normally he would just stay in bed, think back to all the injustice he had spread, but today it was one of those days that his throat felt dry. Standing up he looked himself in the mirror, his white hair still in good shape, gently curling outwards on some ends, while from his clothing someone could easily tell that he hadn’t been keeping up with his self-care, since it consisted of nothing fancier than a deep red v-neck long sleeved shirt and a pair of white pants, his fancy coats and ornaments long forgotten in some random closet or drawer.   
  
Sighing at his reflection, Duke turned his body away, slightly touching the glass with his fingertips as he walked towards his kitchen. His footsteps were dragged, forced, maybe he should go back to his bed and forget the water his mouth and body required to function. As he was deep in thought about maybe giving up on going to drink something all together, there was a loud knock at the door that earned a suspicious look from Duke. Careful with his steps since he held no weapon at hand, and honestly couldn’t have the strength to hold one at the state he was in, Pantarei reached the door and opened it slightly, only one of his crimson eyes visible to whoever knocked the door. Said eye widened upon looking up and down a very well known figure to him, as the young boy with the dark purple hair made a shrug alongside a sheepish smile, his clothing ever the same minus his weapons. None of the two speaks up, until Yuri scratches the back of his head, his smile not leaving his lips.   
  
“So will you not invite me in?” The hero asked with a hopeful tone in his voice, trying to get Duke’s burning glare to relax a tad bit, and maybe also get him to open the rest of the doorway so he could look into both of his eyes instead of just one.   
  
“You out of all people, decided to come over to my isolated house, in the middle of the woods… Why?” Duke didn’t open the rest of the door, his glare more piercing than before making Yuri take a step backwards chuckling awkwardly.   
  
“Just, you know, to make sure you’re okay! You helped us in the end after everything ensued, Duke. I wanted to visit and see you.” Explained the younger of the two, still no budging from the other side of the door.   
  
“So let me understand this, Yuri. You came all the way out here to visit me, check up on me, and make sure I was alive and well? Purely on the fact that, in the end, I helped your cause?” Pantarei asked, his pale white eyebrow arching in question.   
  
“Yes, so won’t you let me in? Invite me for some tea may-” His sentence was interrupted midway by the other.   
  
“No.” Duke’s voice was stern, making Yuri’s face drop as the door closed straight away, without even an explanation for the rejection.   
  
“Hey! Duke!” The purple-haired boy groaned and slumped down his shoulders in defeat “Seriously? Why won’t you invite me in? These are not good manners you know.”   
  
For a while the man inside the house didn’t open the door, it remained closed and no voice was heard from the other side. Yuri just sighed and rested his back on the wall next to the door, waiting at least for a response and an explanation.   
  
“I just thought you would like a visitor.” The hero’s voice was quiet, his hands behind his head now to support him better, knowing very well that Pantarei was still behind the door.   
  
“You come here uninvited, unannounced, after I tried to kill you and your friends… Just to keep me company?” Suddenly the door opened slightly, making Yuri turn to face it and finally see Duke’s face normally since it was shown more than before.   
  
His dark gray eyes widened from shock, Duke’s face looked pale, paler than usual, and thin as if he hadn’t eaten for ages. Yuri frowned in worry and extended his hand for Duke to take, it was true that his visit had been nothing but a good deed from his heart, just to check up on the other and make sure he was okay, which apparently he was not.   
  
“That is correct, come on it will be fun to have someone around right? Even if it is just for some minutes I will take it!” Soon the warrior turned his frown into a smile, in hope to get Duke to agree to his offer.   
  
A sigh came from the white-haired’s lips as he looked with his tired red eyes at the hero. He wanted to say no, to turn him down and make him leave his poor excuse of existence alone. But honestly he just couldn’t do it, that hopeful smile on Yuri’s face and the shine in his dark coloured eyes, somehow they bent his decision and allowed him to open the door enough for the other to walk in.   
Instantly, Yuri chuckled and walked inside, placing a hand on Duke’s shoulder upon his entry. As Pantarei closed the door, the hero stared at his hand before looking over the casual clothes that his old enemy wore. He was shocked to be fair, the sight brought a tight feeling in his chest, it was sad to see such a noble man looking so tired, looking like he had given up on everything. Yuri was about to speak up, but Duke passed by him and waved behind his shoulder for the boy to follow, so he did without asking what he truly wanted.

* * *

Following Duke was not hard, the house was pretty small and they managed to reach the kitchen area within a few steps from the entrance, a cozy kitchen with wooden furniture that made Yuri trace his fingers over the dark wood of the table feeling its rough texture.

“Sit. I will prepare the tea.” The command made Yuri gulp and just sat down instantly, but that is when the boy actually understood how rough the other’s voice was.  
  
“Duke…” Frowning, his dark eyes followed Duke’s movements, noticing how the red hued shirt was loose around his shoulders and how he could tell that Pantarei was tired based just by his slow movements as he brewed the tea “I have a feeling you need the tea more than me.” A glare fell on him from those crimson eyes making him shiver slightly, but what Duke did afterwards allowed Yuri to relax and blink at the other man.   
  
“You…” With a pause, Duke rubbed his temples and sighed with his red eyes now closed, his footing amiss, almost making him fall down if it wasn’t for the counter supporting his weight “You are not wrong. I think this is my fifth day without water.”   
  
“WHAT?!” Yuri stood up and dragged Duke where he sat, making him sit down and start taking care of the kettle himself, getting a glare from the other male in response “Don’t look at me like that, Duke! You need to take better care of yourself. You will die if you keep it up like that.”   
  
At that he got no reply, just a sigh and red eyes closing as he served the tea in already out teacups. Opening a cupboard he went to reach for maybe something to go along with the tea, only to find out that it was empty and so were the others when he decided to open them in his search for a side snack. With a troubled gaze he turned to look at Duke, who was now supporting his head on his hand and his elbow was placed on the table’s edge for leverage, his eyes closed and lips slightly parted with cracking on the skin. _‘Duke… What are you even trying to do to yourself…?’_ Yuri thought as he placed the two teacups on the wooden surface, sitting as close to the other man as possible by occupying the nearest chair.   
The moment the hero sat down and picked up the cup, blowing slightly on the rising smoke from how hot the liquid inside it was, Duke decided to open his eyes and observe him. His observation of course didn’t last for long, after all everything on Yuri was still the same in the short time span since their last encounter, therefore Pantarei decided to pick up his own teacup, his hands shaking slightly from the weight as he followed Yuri’s idea of blowing away the steam before taking a sip. The drink tasted almost bitter in his dry mouth, he could have sworn that tea was sweeter than this, but maybe it was his rusty taste buds playing tricks on him since Yuri seemed to be enjoying the taste.

* * *

After a few moments in complete silence, surprisingly pretty comfortable silence too, Duke’s cup did a clinking sound upon being placed on the little plate under it, making Yuri snap his attention to the white-haired next to him, who was now clutching his head with a pained expression. Placing his own cup down, the hero stood up and helped Duke up on his feet as well, feeling the other lean his weight on him. Surprised by how light Duke was, Yuri supported him on his side and walked outside of the kitchen, holding the white-haired man by the waist he started looking around for any other doors. Thankfully for him there were only two more, one open enough to let the purple-headed youth to know it was the bedroom. Dragging his steps, careful enough to not cause Duke to trip or fall, Yuri made it to the room safely and placed the other down on the mattress, covering his body with the blanket since he saw him shiver.   
  
“Duke, hey.” A shake on the shoulder caused the older of the two to open his red eyes, confusion passing through them as he scanned his surroundings “Oh good, you are okay… Well okay is a general term, you are definitely not okay. What are you even trying to do? Kill yourself?” He never got an answer to his question, which worried him even more when Duke looked away from him.   
  
Yuri’s question was pointless in his ears, the answer was obvious and pretty apparent by his physical state, or well what sorry excuse of physical state he had left. Duke felt like his eyes were giving out on him again, he should close them, relax his body and let the darkness take over for the rest of the day, after all he had a cup of tea, that should be enough to keep him stable in hydration levels for some days, at least he hoped so.   
Indeed his crimson orbs started giving up on him, slowly allowing his eyelids to cover them, but something made them open wide again and stare at the purple-haired boy who was now, instead of standing up, sitting next to him, on his bed, caressing his white hair and carelessly playing with one of the pale curled strands. Duke opened his lips, feeling the upper one sticking to the bottom one before they were teared apart, his voice not spilling out of them, his throat still feeling dry. He could not even complain or ask Yuri why he was playing with his hair, he really was a pitiful excuse for a being. Suddenly he felt a finger on his lips and heard the boy next to him whispering a ‘hush’ before retreating it back inside his scalp, making his gaze focus on Yuri’s face which held a sad expression.   
  
“I can’t believe you would do this to yourself, I should have listened to my gut and visited you sooner.” Yuri said, knowing that Duke was listening to him from how his bloody coloured orbs were stuck on his dark gray ones. For once that didn’t scare him, instead he smiled at Duke’s figure, his fingers still playing around and twirling random white pieces of hair “Duke, you don’t need to die. You did some mistakes, that is what being a human is, making mistakes but also amending for them. Heaven and Hell know how many mistakes I’ve made. But you don’t see me attempting a slow and torturous suicide!” A small chuckle followed his explanation which made Pantarei also smile slightly “At least promise me you will allow me to help you get back on your feet, you don’t deserve to be alone, isolated from everything and everyone, that helps no one.”   
  
At first he didn’t know how to respond to that.   
He just stayed there, laying down and looking at the hero who saved all with wide red eyes, red that threatened to spill tears, tears that he didn’t want to show the other, he didn’t need to see them. But as he thought about his response, Duke felt a hand on his cheek and a pressure against his forehead. Closing his crimson pools softly he allowed his head to make a nod, having someone who actually cares wouldn’t hurt.   
Yuri knew, he knew about the darkness pulling the sole essence of his soul towards destruction, he understood Duke’s hardships, maybe one of the very few that did. The fact that he wanted to help made Duke almost… happy, he could swear he felt his heart beat somewhat faster when he opened his eyes again and locked them with a deep gray sea that Yuri’s held. The hero smiled, still twirling a curled strand in his fingers and his rival did too, pressing his pale forehead more into his. They didn’t know for how long they stayed like that, with Duke closing his eyes and relaxing as Yuri whispered comforting words, but by the time Yuri looked outside the sun had given its place to the moon and Duke had allowed him to stay and share his burdens with him for the night. A proposal that Yuri couldn’t turn down and indeed didn’t.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there!  
> Thank you for reading this!  
> Kudos and Comments are always appreciated!


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